Tag Archives: Morgan Weber

Last week we spent several days in Florence, Alabama building the set design for this year’s private event with Chef John Besh during Billy Reid’s Shindig No 8. Last year we built the salvaged wood tunnel for this same event and were honored to be invited back. The challenge was to come up with a design that would rival last years private entrance design while not redoing the same look.

This photo taken from Google Maps shows the location before the entrance wall was built.

This photo shows the location after the completion of the vine covered entryway.

This year’s private event spanned across the back yards of two historic houses which required us to build an entrance and a privacy wall. The inspiration for the entrance came from a photo that SA team member Josh saw of a structure built with willow tree vines. Armed with vines and foliage that we cut from a local apple orchard, our 14’ tall by 45′ wide vine covered entrance took on a life of its own. Covered in moss and vines, two light poles that were joined together formed an entrance that transitioned into a smaller opening built into the vine wall that created a sense of a “secret garden”. To add our own unique touch, we installed architectural salvage consisting of a broken 8’ tall Gothic stained glass window and a round 1884 window in the wall providing a “peek” to the other side.

The vine and moss covered entry created a “secret garden” atmosphere.

To the right of the entrance, about 75 feet, we designed and built a privacy wall featuring the Shindig logo. The wall was built using stained bleacher boards rescued from a local basketball gym. The center canvas of white barn wood created a nice contrast for the brown logo application. The logo was created using thinly cut wood pieces, hand cut by local artist Leldon Maxcy. The wall served a dual purpose, creating privacy for the event, as well as, a great backdrop for photo opportunities!

The salvaged wood wall created privacy for the ticketed event as well as a backdrop for photo opps!

The third component that we designed and built for Shindig were the bar areas. The main bar, built for Blackberry Farms to utilize showcasing their special Shindig beer, featured a salvaged wood wall as the backdrop for the cutout metal logos. The logos were framed with salvaged walnut banisters built by Josh and Andrew. A second bar area was built just inside the secret garden entrance from white salvaged wood for Tito’s and staffed by the great Houston restaurant owner Morgan Weber, owner of Eight Row Flint and Coltivare Pizza & Garden.

The salvaged wood wall behind the main bar served as a backdrop for the framed metal cutout logos.

This was a team effort. Andrew, Patrick, Rogelio, Miguel, Mauldin and Garlan worked throughout the week on various parts while Josh supervised the project and created the beautiful vine entry. Everyone on our team worked hard in one aspect or another to ensure our success with this project. We would like to thank Designer Billy Reid, featured Chef John Besh and the Besh Foundation, Brewer Roy Milner from Blackberry Farm Brewery, Eight Row Flint and Tito’s for collaborating with Southern Accents for this prestigious event. We would also like to recognize Sarah Trapp and Shelly Colvin who worked tirelessly organizing the entire weekend of events! The secret garden wall will remain for the next few weeks and can be viewed at 248 East Tuscaloosa Street in Florence, Alabama. Visit our BLOG to see more photos of our creations at Shindig No. 8!

Left to right: Garlan Gudger, Billy Reid, Chef John Besh and Roy Milner.

The 8′ tall broken church window provided a “peek” inside the garden!

This salvaged wood bar was built just inside the secret garden entrance for Tito’s.

Cutout metal logos framed in salvaged walnut banister.

The salvaged wood wall served as a backdrop for photos as guests arrived.